I Don’t Like Thinking About Death

“A strong execution here from Bird and the team, making for an enjoyable thriller…”

A man with a predatory nature goes on a tinder date, a sinister plan begins to unravel.

Writer/Director Paul Bird knows just how to write an unlikeable character to focus our story around. As soon as the film begins, it’s clear what type of person we’re dealing with and wonder how it will end for him. Considering the film only features two actors, Bird keeps the pace of the film flowing without needless exposition. Which may have something to do with our lead characters inability to stop talking about himself.

It was an interesting way to take on the subject of toxic masculinity, however it might have been nice to discover more about the character of Adam’ motives rather than purposefully making his character so unlikable that it becomes unrealistic. By the end of the film we wonder what the moral and message was for the audience to consider.

Sam Liddell as Adam and Azaleia Bradley as Zoe have great chemistry with each other making for an enjoyable back and fourth. Narcissist Liddell assuming he has the upper hand at all times adds a fun twist as we learn Bradley true motives.

Production wise the film does well considering it’s modest budget. The camera work from Rhys Tyack is solid and somewhat safe as this film didn’t call for elaborate setups, instead focussing on our two characters interactions with each other so that we really pay close attention. The lighting really helped to give the film a distinct look and add a real sense of danger from what might be lurking in the shadows.

The score from Seth Mischewski was very understated which made sense, it would have felt out of place with an overbearing soundtrack distracting the audience. More time could have been put into the sound design perhaps which would have elevated the twist ending as it felt somewhat unfinished.

A strong execution here from Bird and the team, making for an enjoyable thriller that could certainly be expanded into a longer short film to establish the characters further and give the actors to work with...

— APEX Film Awards